Advice for parents about the career options for their children

Advice for students on getting through the winter months

19 December 2018

As an experienced parent, you no doubt have all manner of tips to keep the cold out and stay motivated during the coldest months. You're probably aware your child doesn't!

Imparting that wisdom to them is tricky. Many students have their first taste of independence at uni. If they study away, then your advice is easier to ignore!

So to avoid having a deep-frozen young person showing up at your door with a major league dose of flu, here are some bite-sized ideas you can throw at them.

The last thing they'll want is a detailed talk about how they're going to look after themselves. Our guide should help you get the message across simply and quickly…

5. Heating

If any tip is going to receive a response of "Yeah, duh!" it's one about heating. Everyone knows you have to stay warm during Winter. But it takes some thought regardless!

Here's the thing. A lot of students will generally lounge around "writing essays"/watching boxsets and leaving radiators on all day.

Some advice about rationing utilities would come in very handy. For example, setting the boiler to be on for specific periods of time, or moving around to generate heat.

If that doesn't convince them, then wait till that first bill rolls in. They'll soon get the idea that with great heating comes great responsibility.

4. Eating

Student diets are generally not conducive to cold weather. A Pot Noodle can sort of tide someone over in Autumn, but when the ice sets in they need substantial sustenance.

Bite the bullet. Chances are your child is great at making toast, but anything more complicated is (quite literally) a recipe for disaster.

Yet cooking big and hearty meals that'll leave a warm glow inside can be simpler than they think. Dedicated apps are packed with great ideas and best of all they're free.

Plus the great thing about, say, a casserole is it can be eaten across the week. It's a meal that saves money as well as staving off those relentless low temperatures…

3. Layers

We've talked about heating indoors, but outdoors is an even more important consideration. It's where all the cold comes from, and students should be ready!

There's only one way to go. Winter clothing can be stylish but expensive. Layers are the thing to really keep the chill at bay. They can restrict movement, but bottle up heat.

Exercise gets the blood pumping and raises your core temperature. But being outdoors in a pair of shorts may not be the best idea. Read more on that here.

2. Managing workload

An underestimated thing about Winter is its ability to drain the enthusiasm out of people. Dark skies and icy blasts spell depression for the nation.

Get up and at 'em. Staying positive is essential. You must find it tough climbing out of bed to face Jack Frost, and it's double tough for your child. So they should develop strategies…

A simple but effective way of motivating yourself is to set more than one alarm. The first one may not rouse you, but the second, third and maybe even fourth will!

Also, they shouldn't forget to chill… so to speak. Remind them they are allowed to curl up with a hot water bottle and a TV streaming session every once in a while.

1. Top up income

Colder weather naturally leads to greater expense. It's like the seasons… in this case it actually is the seasons! So topping up income to pay the extra money is vital.

Online surveys are a good way to earn some spare cash, simply for answering questions and completing tasks. It can all be done from home but don't sit still too long.

While your child is busy buying winter warmers, they may want to know about cashback. This is where you get paid to spend. Read more about this here.

Students typically work part time jobs around their studies, so anything home-based makes the perfect add on. However all kinds of ideas are out there, as seen here.